


Watching and Tugging from the Sidelines

by EstaJay



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Cameos from BMC Christine and Jeremy, DEH Secret Santa 2017, Developing Relationships, M/M, Young Justice AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 06:29:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13140996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EstaJay/pseuds/EstaJay
Summary: Jared watches as the start of a relationship begins to bloom between his dearest family-friend and a somewhat close acquaintance. Hopefully being teenage vigilantes doesn't get it the way.





	Watching and Tugging from the Sidelines

**Author's Note:**

> For nuclear-tides on tumblr for DEH Secret Santa 2017. Enjoy!

Jared arrived at the Hansen’s doorstep to find a stack of two dozen pizza boxes in front of the door where a receipt and a polite ‘Thank you for delivering, please place the order here’ note was taped. Most would assume it would be for a rowdy party thrown while the parents were absent, fitting for the food and quantity ordered, but it was Evan who lived here. The guy who barely made it through standard social interactions without a panic attack willingly doing anything that involved a large amount of people behind his mom’s back? Unthinkable. 

Aunt Heidi must be out because there was no way that she would let her son pull this trick when she was home. The ability to both pay and order online was both a blessing and a curse. On one hand Evan wouldn’t be starving himself every night because of the dozens ‘what if’s’ that ran through his head whenever the doorbell rang. Delivery guys were just doing their job and if a sticky note asked them to leave the paid pizza on the doorstep, who were they to argue? Evan would have come up with a dozen reasons for otherwise but then again jumping to several worst case scenarios over the most mundane things was just what he did. Jared would help out when he could back then, coupled with a bit of teasing and asshole behaviour that Evan somehow tolerated over their years of friendship, but he lived two towns over couldn’t come over every time Aunt Heidi had overtime or night classes or her ‘other job’. So less social interaction for the hermit in the making but at least he wasn’t passing out from malnutrition. 

The pizza was cold. That shouldn’t have set off any alarms but the pizza was cold. It could just been forgotten there or something but Evan would have heard the rumble of a motorcycle and the delivery guy would normally ring the doorbell. Evan would have waited a couple minutes for the delivery guy to leave but he would have raced to the door and back to grab the food before anyone could blink an eye. If Evan was still waiting the pizza should still be somewhat warm but the pizza was cold. 

Maybe the delivery guy was a jerk and dropped the pizza off cold but that didn’t normally happen. Evan would have snatched the pizza up even quicker if the guy was late to the point he might have actually answered the door like a normal person. Maybe both Hansens were ‘out’ for the night which was even more unlikely with Evan’s arm still in a cast slowing him down and maybe even making him a liability on the field, something that Aunt Heidi would never risk. Even if she did, there wouldn’t be a pizza order in the first place.

There was cold pizza on the doorstep and Evan’s ‘I’m starving but I still won’t answer the door’ note and this city was nothing like the grit and gloom of a settlement that Jared had started to call home. He was probably overthinking everything like he used to tease Evan about all those years ago. The pizza was cold and nothing was probably wrong. Jared gave a hollow chuckle, to think his paranoia would ever rival Evan’s anxiety. At least he had been asking for it, jumping to the streets in a leotard and pixie boots, unlike his friend who was born with that ingrained in his mind. 

Jared scooped the pizza boxes in one hand and unlocked the door with his key, the one Aunt Heidi had given him years ago, instead of obnoxiously ringing the doorbell and forcing Evan to answer it. He entered quietly. Just in case something was going on inside. 

Everything was still the same inside as it had been for the past ten years. The shoe rack by the door, the family portraits along the walls and the little bonsai might as well have been Aunt Heidi’s first grandchild. The Hansen household was a once-boring now-treasured constant in Jared’s life. From his nomadic childhood to giving up a literal circus of elephants and acrobats for the circus fake smiles and business deals of the upper class, this place and the small family who lived here were still as welcoming back then as they were now. 

Turning the corner, Jared sighed in relief to find a distinctly Evan-shaped lump on the couch curled up in a red blanket. The tv was on but muted, subtitles popping up underneath the news report of the Flash and Superman assisting in the emergency flood relief. 

Damn and after all Aunt Heidi did to clear out her schedule and bullying Bruce into letting Jared come over for the revival of Taco Tuesday, it turned out to just be a regular Tuesday. 

Jared dropped the boxes on the kitchen counter considering the dining table was already spread with bowls of taco stuffings and shells. Evan would probably want to wait for his mom before getting started on the tacos but that didn’t mean that Jared couldn’t microwave some pizza in the meantime. If Evan ordered, he must be starving but if he didn’t grab it, he must be worried. Well, more worried than normal.

Jared returned to the lounge room with two reheated cheese pizzas in hand. Evan’s focus was still locked on the words and pictures on the screen, completely unaware that Jared had even entered his house. Evan was worried, even though Aunt Heidi had the man of steel as backup and the speed to outrun anything in harm's way. That wouldn’t soothe his friend’s nerves, Jared knew, unless his mom was right next to him on the couch or that he was out there with her. That was why Evan gave himself a chemical electrocution after all. 

“So do you ship it?” Jared said, plopping the pizza on the coffee table and himself beside Evan. 

Evan spluttered, nearly falling off the couch in his attempt to sit upright. “Jared! But - When did you -? How…? Why would you even - ?”

Jared leaned back into the couch, remaining casual as he sorted through the bits and pieces of Evan’s high speed rambings. “Let myself in about ten minutes ago - and yes, through the front door. I’ve got a spare key, remember?” 

Evan straightened himself up, peeved and probably berating himself for being caught off guard. “I thought we agreed to tone done on the ninja-thing.”

“Around the team, yes. But between old family-friends, different story.” Heh, family-friends. Jared used to hold that over Evan’s head back when they were kids, when he was a giant brat and Evan was a permanent fixture to the hem of Aunt Heidi’s skirt. The only reason they hung out was due to their moms being friends. Now though, it was something different. “Besides, nothing beats scaring the crap out of you.”

“I will push you off the couch.”

“But can you get past my reflexes?”

“I’m faster than your reflexes.”

“And you’re easy to anticipate.”

“Do you really want to test that?”

“How about after we get something down your gullet first?” Jared held one of the plates to Evan’s face.

Evan swatted it back and looked away. “Not hungry.”

“With your metabolism? Unlikely.”

“Mom’s going to be home soon for tacos.”

“And you’ll be out by then.”

“I won’t.”

“Do you want your mom to come home and find you passed out, again?”

“That was one time!” 

And then there was a grumble. Evan blushed and Jared threw him a wide ‘I told you so’ grin.

“...pass a plate.”

The tv was unmuted and turned up several levels higher than need, masking the sound of Evan demolishing the pizza. He was eating relatively slowly, Jared could actually blink between each slice’s disappearance, but the couch was vibrating with nervous energy. His eyes were still trained on the screen with his ears soaking in the newscaster’s embellishments to turn a report into entertainment. Not that the plastic faced lady needed to, superheroes were involved so that made it instantly interesting. 

Evan was still worried. Some random scene of a building crumbling, a loss of footing and not being fast enough reeling in his mind while reality played out on screen. A simple ‘She’ll be fine’ won’t cut it, it never did. 

“So superflash, do you ship it?” Jared said instead, earning him a desperate choking sound and a scandalized look from Evan. 

“Why would - why would you say that?!” Evan coughed.

Jared grinned and leaned further back into the couch. “Well they have been seen together an awful lot lately.”

“The Flash and Superman are the two fastest heroes in the League.” Evan countered with an unspoken ‘and the Flash is faster’. “Of course they would be the first there on any scene.”

“And the Big Blue has been sighted pretty frequently around here in Central City.”

“We’re close to Metropolis, he could just be passing by.”   
“And hasn’t a certain ‘Mr Kent’ been visiting your mom lately?”

“He wants to be a better parent for Jeremy, what’s wrong with that?!” 

“And so did Green Arrow. And Aquaman. And  _ Batman. _ ”

Evan opened his mouth but nothing but half formed words and halting stutters came out as his face slowly grew more red. All his previous worry was gone replaced with sheer replacement. 

Jared couldn’t help but keep egging him on. “So what are the chances of Supes being your step-father to-be?”

“Iamgoingtogetmorepizza!”

And in a flash Evan was gone. Jared smirked as he followed the retreating blur at a more leisurely pace. Sure it was a bit mean for teasing Evan about Aunt Heidi’s past not-boyfriends (one of which was his current guardian which was not a bit weird  _ at all)  _ but he had a feeling that this was after more than the Flash’s unparalleled parenting advice. He had seen that look before on a certain clone swooning over a musical-obsessed martian. There was a reason that Superboy had picked the name Jeremy after all. 

Leaning against the doorframe, Jared watched as Evan raced around the kitchen shoving cold pizza in the microwave, oven, sandwich toaster and any other appliance that would reheat leftovers in attempt to bleach the thought of Aunt Heidi getting it on with an alien. Another smartass comment, and concern maybe Evan shouldn’t be going so fast with his arm still in a cast, was on Jared’s lips when something caught his eye. 

“Who’s Connor?” 

Evan skidded to a halt, nearly tumbling over the dining table. 

“No one!” He said a little too quickly, cradling his cast, with C-O-N-N-O-R written boldly across it like a brand, closer to his body. He thought if he could hide the signature and Jared would forget about it. Adorable. 

“Y’know if you don’t tell me I can always start hacking.”

“Connor’s a guy from my school.” Evan muttered, blush colouring his cheeks. 

“ _ Just  _ a guy from your school?”

Evan stumbled over his words, a little too fast or too slow at times as he tried to explain. “He’s new… a new kid at my school but he’s in my grade. Who - well, kind of pushed me on the first day of class...but he apologised for it! And since no one had, uh...since no one had signed my cast yet he said...he said he would and - and he signed it and said we could...we could both pretend that we have friends.”

Jared knew that Evan wasn’t the most social person and was painfully awkward in any interactions outside of yellow spandex, which was a high school sentencing to being the weirdo loner, but ‘pretending to be friends’ was just plain pitiful. 

“So what did you tell him when this ‘Connor’ asked how’d you break it?” Jared knew he could trust Evan to not blurt out ‘fighting a league of super villains’ but Evan could never be predictable in those situations. Knowing if he had to do damage control or back up his friend’s story never hurt. 

“I said - I said that I..uh, fell out of a tree?”

Evan really needed to work on his cover stories.

“You ‘fell out of a tree’ and he bought that?” 

“Connor said...Connor said that it was the - the saddest...effing thing he had ever heard.”

“Well at least that fits with your tree kink.” Jared teased. 

“I do not have a tree kink!”

“So where did you take him for your first date?”

“The orchard.” Evan admitted his blush growing deeper. “And it was not a date!  It was just two friends, shooting the breeze-”

“In an abandoned orchard with no one in sight and free to do whatever kinky shit you please…”

“Shut up Jared! Connor’s just a friend.”

“Suuure he is...and is something burning?” 

“The pizza!” And with that Evan was back all over the kitchen, salvaging what was left of his dinner before the house burned down. 

Jared sighed as he caught sight of the cast again. Could  Evan be anymore obvious? Jared hasn’t seen him this bad since Artemis joined the team. His little Baby Flash had a major crush on this Connor guy and it had to be mutual. One simply doesn’t write his name all over another guy’s arm are expect things to stay purely hetro. 

If Superman hasn’t proposed to Aunt Heidi by the time Evan has brought Connor home, Jared was definitely jumping in as the ‘intimidating father figure’.

{~~~}

Being a trained acrobat from birth with a side of contortionist had give Jared many unexpected benefits. Being agile and flexible enough to counter Gotham’s criminal element was one.  Avoiding knobby elbows when jammed in an air vent with a six-foot archer was another. 

“Remind me again how we got into this fucking ridiculous situation in the first place?” his companion snarled.

“Language, Speedy.” Jared said, wriggling out of the way before getting a joint in the gut.

“English, Robin. And stop calling me that. It’s Red Arrow now.”

“I thought you were splitting off from Green Arrow.”

“Well  _ sorry  _ for not having enough time to think up of a new damn name.”

Speedy - Red Arrow, whatever Green Arrow’s former protege was calling himself, turned again which lead to Jared getting a quiver’s worth of fletchings up his nose.

“Achoo!”

“Hey! Keep the snot off my arrows!” Red Arrow said, planting an elbow into Jared’s thigh.   
Jared growled, giving the taller boy a sharp yank at his short ponytail. “Well keep the arrows out of my nose!”

“Hey, did you hear that?”

Both boys immediately clamped down, hoping that they wouldn’t be heard by the henchmen down below. 

“Ugh, probably rats again. Leave them to pest control, we’ve got intruders two floors up!”

The sound of fading footsteps gave them a chance to sigh in relief. Jared was glad he messed with the alarm system before hacking into the building’s database. Given the team’s specialization in stealth (and lack in maintaining it), it was a surprise that this building wasn’t up in flames yet. Sure a couple alarms had been tripped but at least they haven’t been caught yet. 

Squirming a bit to get a bit more wriggle room, Jared pulled up a hologram of the building’s floor plan from his computer glove. “Okay, that little trick would have bought us enough time to make it to the ground floor undetected if we stick to the vents-”

“And why do we have to stick to these cramp-ass vents?” Red Arrow grumbled.

“Because most adults are stupid enough to think that their too small to be exploited so they don’t look,” Jared explained patiently. “And it’s the quickest way out the building besides jumping out a window.” 

It wasn’t something that he had to do when dealing with Batman but Evan had super-speed, not telepathy. Explaining things plainly no matter how obvious it was, even before the whole superhero gig, saved Evan mind-freezing worrying most the time or at least reined in the more irrational conclusions. A little something that made working with several other moody teenagers actually feasible a bit more aster and less disaster.

(And yes, Evan had corrected him a dozen times that aster was a type of flower but that wouldn’t stop him from improving the English language.)

“So once we hit ground floor, we’re home free?” 

“Once we hit ground floor, we’ll be out in the open.” Jared said. “Artemis should give us enough cover to reach Aquagirl and then we report back to the Cave.”

Red Arrow growled at the mention of Green Arrow’s new protege, his replacement. “If  _ she’s  _ here what did you need me for? I’m not even part of this fucking team.”

“You know Aquagirl. She doesn’t anyone doing anything without backup.” Jared started crawling down vents, the disgruntled archer trailing behind. “Miss M  has super-important telepathy training with her uncle, Superboy is having a donor-clone bonding day foiling Luthor’s plans and Kid Flash is still benched from his injuries so  _ sorry  _ for forcing unwanted sibling bonding time on you.” 

“She is not my sister!” Red Arrow protested. 

‘But she will be. Green Arrow’s wedding is what, next month? So you guys are going to be spending a lot of time together. Unless you’re going to say Green Arrow’s not your dad.”

“How do you even know that?”

“I’m Batman.” Jared said, earning him an elbow in the calf and his follower a kick in the nose. “Look, think of this as a trial run. If you two are going to live in the same house, then the screaming matches you have in the Cave isn’t going to cut it. Unless dysfunctional is what you’re going for then go right ahead.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Red Arrow muttered. “Green Arrow’s kicking me out the moment I turn eighteen so he can have his perfect civilian life with a normal wife and flawless daughter. No need to keep me around any longer to fuck things up.”

“...did he actually say that?”

“It’s pretty much implied.”

Then it was quiet, save for the hollow clangs of their knees and elbows against metal. 

There were issues between the original Arrow duo, right back to when Speedy first entered Star City’s rooftops and even before then. Jared could pry, there was an entire file on Larry Murphy and his son out of wedlock, but sometimes there were things that you just let be. Black Canary, the Flash and even Batman had all given what help and advice they could so what difference was one teenager going to make. 

Still, it was too quiet. 

“So anything interesting happening at school?” Jared asked. 

“Small talk, Robin, really? Isn’t this supposed to be a stealth mission?” Red Arrow said. “And doesn’t Bats have a rule about personal details on the field?”

Not that the other could see it but Jared shrugged. “If we’re not yelling at each other then no one’s going to hear us and you don’t have to use any names. Besides, if I really wanted all the juicy details of your personal life I could always start hacking.”

“Does invasion of privacy mean nothing to you?” But Red Arrow then sighed and said, “I started at a new school in another city.”

“Really? Did all the other schools in Star City kick you out for smoking weed or something?” 

“Yes. They actually did.” There was an unspoken challenge hovering in the air. Jared just gulped and let Red Arrow continue. “It’s the same as any other school, a giant fucking waste of time. It’s bad enough that no one knows you because it’s in completely different town but thanks to my damned luck, I have a lovely reputation to precede me.”

“What kind of a reputation?” Jared dared ask.

“Y’know, the usual stuff. I’m going to steal someone’s lunch money, sell drugs to freshmen, shoot up the school, blah blah blah, yada yada yada...You  _ need  _ to be high off your ass to even get through one day.” Red Arrow gave a short laugh. “Not that the teachers care. I’m already a loss cause to them. As long as I turn up to class, they don’t give a damn.”

“You can pull off school shooter chic pretty well if you ask me.” Jared said lightly, though the grumbling behind him told Red Arrow was taking it otherwise. “I was joking.”

“Yeah,  _ so  _ funny. Can’t you see how hard I’m laughing.” But his voice was low, suggesting the complete opposite. 

“I can’t see you at all actually. Crawling through an air vent, remember?” And ready to jump out the next opening if Red Arrow decided to freak. Stealth mission be damned. 

They were almost there, though. Another could metres and then they would be free to beat up bad guys and escape with blazing glory. 

“I have a friend.” Red Arrow said suddenly, quietly. 

“What kind? A kindred spirit with a love for 7-11 slushies?”

“The aliens need to turn back on the showtunes.” And Jared would second that. While they normally cycled through a shuffled playlist, if the kryptonian and the martian found a song the both liked it would be stuck on repeat for a week  _ at least. _ “No, he’s the complete opposite. Nervous and jumpy most of the time and probably scared of his own shadow. I thought that he stuck around because no one else seemed to notice him, ‘pretend’ that we’re friends so we wouldn’t look like complete losers. But now…”

“You guys’ lovers now?” Jared joked again, bracing himself for another outburst.

But instead, Red Arrow gave a shallow laugh. “And get between him and trees? I don’t think so. He could go on for hours talking about how the trees at school were different to the ones that grew there before humans settled, what conditions different types of trees would thrive in, the significance of the shape of a leaf...he still insists on climbing them even though his arm’s still in a cast from falling out of one.”

“He fell out of a tree?” Now that sounded familiar.

“Yeah, the saddest fucking thing I ever heard.” And Jared could practically hear the smile on Red Arrow’s lips.  

“Sounds like someone that could give Poison Ivy a run for her money.”

“He would kick that bitch’s ass with his sheer knowledge on trees.”

Red Arrow was crushing for this friend of his  _ hard.  _ Maybe even more so than Evan and his mysterious ‘Connor’. Jared couldn’t shake the nagging feeling of familiarity though, as if he’s heard this somewhere before.

Rounding another corner, the distant sound of combat was growing louder and louder. Peering through the grate, Jared saw the girls already locked in battle with numerous faceless henchmen. It was nothing they couldn’t handle, Aquagirl’s streams of water keeping the enemy at bay while Artemis picked them off from above. Well, at least they didn’t have to stall for any longer. 

Despite the limited space Jared could hear Red Arrow notching his bow, ready to jump into action. With a cackling grin and a slight signal, Jared kicked open the vent and somersaulted into the fray. 

{~~~}

It was obvious

It was so obvious. 

It was right in front of him the  _ entire time  _ but only now…

Evan’s was a guy who signed his cast and offered to pretend to be friends. Who went with him to the orchard and probably had to sit through several college lectures worth of tree rants. Who was new to the school but was a senior like Evan. 

Red Arrow’s was nervous and scared of his own shadow at his new school. Who turned an offer of fake friendship into a real one. Who knew a ton about trees and broke his arm falling out of one. 

Red Arrow’s real name was  _ Connor...  _ and guess what was scrawled right across Evan’s arm. 

“Ha.”

Aquagirl, Alana, looked up from her mission report. “Is something the matter, Robin?”

Now that all the pieces clicked together.

“Ha ha.”

Miss Martian, Christine, hovered over with a concerned look. Superboy, Jeremy, was close behind her. “Is everything okay?”

In all honesty, it really was hilarious.

“Ha ha ha!”

“Someone get Batman!”

“Ha ha heh, don’t worry guys.” Jared said, forcing out the last of his laughs. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Christine said. “You didn’t get hit with any Joker gas in Gotham or anything?”

“Positive.” This half of the team wouldn’t understand. They shared their identities openly with each other. They had nothing to lose. “Just figured out a punchline to a joke a little late.”

Alana, though relieved that her teammate was in no imminent danger, frowned at Jared. “Well be less hysterical next time you come to such a revelation. There’s still a mission report we need to write.”

“But you’re the leader!” Jared whined.

“We’re  _ co-leaders  _ of this team, Robin. Batman will notice if I write the entire report myself, again.”

Jared grumbled but set to work, reporting on their finding on what could possibly be an organisation behind the Injustice League, working from the shadows and pulling at the strings. 

Alana could work on the report all day and it would matter. Between Aquagirl and Alana’ahm there would be no different in life or status. He had Jared Kleinman and Robin, Boy Wonder. One a billionaire’s ward and the other a vigilante’s partner. Finding out one was connected to the other would lead to complete and utter disaster. It was the same for the others with civilian lives. There were too many risks involved in revealing their identities. Something that deserved a trust that the team had yet to build but…sometimes, it might be worth it.

{~~~}

Kid Flash was welcomed back to the Cave after his arm had finally healed by an over-enthusiastic Miss Martian, a somewhat hesitant Superboy an an all-too-eager Robin catching him in a bone crushing hug the moment he exited the zeta tube. 

“Uh, guys...I really - I really appreciate the sentiment but, but would it be okay if, er...if you ease up a little.” their speedster victim mumbled after failing to wriggled out of three sets of arms. “My arm it...my arm’s still a little tender, y’know?”

Superboy was the first to let go, all to aware of his own strength. “Sorry, it’s just been so long.”

“We haven’t seen you for an entire month!” Miss Martian added as she reluctantly let go as well. “Just because the Flash benched you, doesn’t mean you aren’t welcome here.”

Yeah, as if Evan, who was as paranoid with his secret identity was Batman, would come here toting around a cast signed by his ‘civilian’ best friend. Otherwise it was good to see him back in tights, even if yellow was definitely not his colour. 

“Uh...thank you. It’s - it’s nice to know that, that I’m welcomed here.” Evan said, with a slight blush forming. “Though the...the welcome was a bit...much.”

“It was either this or a two-hour musical cabaret.” Jared grinned, remaining firmly attached to his friend’s side. “We’ve missed you, buddy.”

“We had pizza and tacos a couple days ago, Robin.”

“Exactly!”

“Wait.” Artemis interjected, the spoilsport standing off the side with Aquagirl, having refused to take part in the surprise welcome hug. “How’d you two have pizza and tacos if Kid Flash was benched?”

“Easy, I dropped by his house and had dinner with him and Aunt Flash.” Jared said. 

“In civies?! But what about Batman’s ‘No Names’ policy?”

“Family-friend privileges.”

“Robin and I knew each other before uh...the whole superhero thing.” Evan explained quickly before Jared could further probe the archer. “Our parents were friends so we kind of grew up together as friends so, yeah. Family-friends.”

“Batman and Flash have been friends for that long?” Superboy asked, saving them from dealing with anymore of Artemis’ suspicions or accusations.

However, neither Jared or Evan answered. Flash may be Evan’s mom but Batman wasn’t his dad, just his guardian, but it was best to let others draw their own conclusions.

Aquagirl stepped forward, grasping Artemis firmly by the shoulder. “It’s good to have you back, Kid Flash.” She said. “We have a welcome dinner prepared which should be enough to satisfy the needed calorie intake for everyone on the team.” 

“Or in other words, she crunched a bunch of numbers to work out how much food we need so that no one starves and we can all have a good time.” Jared happily ‘translated’, earning him a pointed glare from his co-leader. “And no need to worry about the cost. We’ve got the bat-budget funding us and the bat butler on standby if ever.”

“Yes but first, there are some official matters that must be addressed.”

Evan immediately straightened and pried Jared off of him. “A mission?”

“No, just a training exercise.” Aquagirl said with a patient smile.  

Jared raised an eyebrow. Last time he checked, the team’s agenda was clean for at least another week while Batman consolidated the information they grabbed regarding the Injustice League. In addition, Black Canary was off on League business so there wouldn’t be anyone to run the session. 

“It’s mind-link training.” Miss Martian said. 

An uncomfortable silence settle over the rest of the team as they remembered the disaster that was their first, and what they thought would be their last, attempt to utilize the mind-link.

Artemis though, having joined the team later, had no clue. “What’s mind-link training?”

“It’s the usage of Martian telepathy as an alternative to comms.” Aquagirl explained. “It’s comparatively more flexible and secure, save for when another telepath is involved, as well as providing an upper-hand when it comes to...impromptu planning during a mission.”

“If it’s so much better, why haven’t we be using it?” 

“Let’s just say there were some technical difficulties when we first tried it out.” Jared said. 

And by ‘technical difficulties’ he meant that what was supposed to be a friendly martian hello somehow imploded into a mental attack that had knocked the entire team out for several hours. 

Miss Martian looked sheepish but nodded. “My uncle figured out what was wrong and has been teaching me to work around it.” 

“If you’ve figured out what the problem was, why work around it when you could just fix it?” Artemis asked. 

“Mental illness isn’t something that can be easily fixed.”

Oh.

_ Oh.  _

“And we’ve all got to be a bit nutty for running around in tights, right?” Jared joked, resisting the urge to turn to Evan. He didn’t need to be a telepath to know that the speedster was blaming himself for their failed mind-link attempt as well as falling into the dozens of other self-deprecating conclusions that followed.

“Maybe - “

“Now let’s head to the common area!” Jared said, cutting Evan off and grabbing his arm. “We all get through this then we can start the welcome party!”

With the team sprawled across the three couches in the common area, Jared felt something poking at him. Like a physical poke, except it was prodding something incorporal but felt completely tactile. 

His first instinct was try to push it away or throw up a false thought to shield his own like Batman had taught him but then he felt something else. It was like someone was standing next to him but not quite touching, he didn’t need to turn to know that they were there. The presence seemed to be growing until Jared could start identifying them. Artemis and Superboy were on either side of him and Miss Martian was vaguely around them, like a boat carrying them across rocking waves. 

The waves was someone too, Aquagirl. Pushing and pulling and rocking the metaphorical Martian boat with its passengers but otherwise controlled. It wasn’t something that could be contained by the ‘boat’. The ocean could capsize or crush the boat but it could also assist it in its journey without compromising the water’s independent rhythm. 

If Miss Martian was the boat; Jared, Artemis and Superboy were the passengers and Aquagirl was the ocean then Evan was - a freaking hurricane. He was a flurry of thoughts that spun as wild and fast as any rogue sea wind. Uncontainable, uncompromising and powerful enough to wreck anything that stood in its path. It drew everyone in and threatened to crush them into pieces. Closer and closer and moments away from splintering the boat and sweeping up its passengers -

And then it was over. 

They were all still in the common area, they had never left, but Jared’s awareness was slowly returning to reality. It was disorienting and potentially fatal in actual combat but for training, it wasn’t that bad. 

Except Evan was crying next to him.

“Hey, KF.” Jared said evenly, keeping his hands by his side. Evan and physical contact never really worked out when he was like this. “No need to cry.”

“I-I’m...I’m not...not crying _. _ ” And trying to be comforting wasn’t really comforting him at all. 

“Then why’s your chin quivering?”

“ _ Not. Crying.” _

Jared crossed his arms and huffed in fake annoyance. “ _ Of course  _ you’re not. But if you start crying then I’m going to start crying then you’ll start crying  _ even harder.” _

“Oi! Boy Blunder, stop bullying Kid Flash!” Artemis growled.

“I’m just trying to help.”

“By really giving him a reason to cry?”

“Both of you. Enough.” Aquagirl commanded, effectively nipping the budding argument at the bud. She then turned to Evan. “Do you need a minute?”

Evan sniffed but sat up and wiped away the tears. “I’ll be fine. I’m just...I’m sorry for messing up - for messing up the training exercise. Maybe...maybe this mind-link isn’t for me.”   
“Actually the training exercise went perfectly well!” Miss Martian interjected, hovering over the rest of the team in giddy delight. “This session was less about establishing a proper connection and more about familiarizing ourselves with each other’s minds and how we can function as a unit.”

“So what you said earlier about mental illness-” Artemis started. 

“I have what’s classed on the surface as high functioning anxiety.” Aquagirl said, daring anyone to challenge her. 

Jared couldn’t help but admire her, sticking her neck out like that. He doubted that he could do the same. Sure he was technically the most experienced member of the team but they should just get rid of the whole ‘co-leader’ nonsense and have Aquagirl in charge. Besides, she did most of the work already when it came to planning and organising the team. 

“I had… have - had generalized anxiety disorder.” Evan admitted, much to Jared’s surprise. “It used to be normal GAD but after the...after I got my powers it - it uh, I…” And then he was floundering, trying to find the right words that just weren’t coming to him. 

So Jared jumped in. “Basically KF doesn’t just move super fast but thinks super fast and when your brain’s wired to worry about every little thing constantly it ain’t fun.”

“And how people think can affect how a mind-link can function.” Miss Martian added, dropping back to the ground. “To get one working properly, we’re all going to have to learn to work with each other.”

“So that would be two birds with one stone, right?” Superboy said. “Team building and establishing a mind-link.”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“Okay so training’s over and everything’s cleared up, let’s start partying!” Jared declared. 

Then a slap resounded through the Cave. 

“Fuck you!”

The Flash, slowly and heavily, stormed through the common area towards the zeta tube. Then she paused before the silent team.

“Kid, we’re going home. Robin, too. I’ll tell Agent A you’re staying for the night.” Flash said coldly, devoid of her normal optimism and motherly cheer. “I suggest the rest of you head home as well.”

“What happened, Aunty?” Jared dared asked. 

“Apparently, one successful mind-link session proves that you’re ready for a full telepathic training exercise.”

“What’s wrong-”

“A  _ Failsafe  _ exercise.”

“Oh.” Preparing to deal with failure. A situation rigged to get worse no matter how hard you try to resolve it. Jared gave an awkward laugh as he turned to the team. “Looks like we’ll have to reschedule guys, sorry.”

Then he and Evan followed in the Flash’s wake, taking the zeta tube back to Central City and arriving in the back streets not far from the Hansen house.

Jared dusted himself off. “Well then, welcome back to active duty.” 

“Yeah, welcome back…”

{~~~}

Robin knew Speedy/Red Arrow. They were fellow proteges of Justice League superheroes, working together when the time called for it. They weren’t particularly close but were friendly enough to each other.   

Jarred knew of Connor Murphy. They were fellow outcasts of high society, a gypsy and a bastard stuck to two of the wealthiest men in the country. They weren’t particularly close but absolutely hated each other’s guts. 

So Jared didn’t know what to expect when found Evan’s ‘let’s pretend to be friends’ Connor on the Hansen doorstep the morning after Aunt Heidi’s ‘fuck you’ to Bruce. At least he was right, Red Arrow pulled off the entire ‘school shooter’ aesthetic surprisingly well from the all black clothes to the permanently fixed scowl.

“Jared Kleinman?” Connor growled. “The fuck are you doing here?”

“Connor Murphy.” Jared greeted in kind. “I could ask you the same.” Because turning up seven in the morning at another guy’s house definitely didn’t add any subtext to ‘we’re just friends’. “Loving the hair, though. Never thought it was that long. It’s like-”

“Like what?” Connor challenged, pushing a lock behind his ear. Unlike when he was Red Arrow or at a social event, his scraggly tresses fell to his shoulders instead of being tied back.

“It suits you better.” Maybe Robin could get away with teasing comment to Red Arrow, but he wasn’t risking getting throttled as Jared by Connor. 

Connor didn’t seem too offended by his answer but he still looked pissed. “Why are you even fucking here?”

“I don’t know? Why are you?”

“I asked first.” 

“But I’m the one in the doorway.” 

Connor threw a pointed glare but then conceded. “Mrs Hansen said I was free to come over whenever I’m early for school.” 

“Aunt Heidi invited me over last night.” 

“ _ Aunt Heidi?” _

“Family friends.” Jared said with a shrug. “My mom was friends with her so Ev and I grew up together.”

“ _ Your  _ the asshole family friend?” That caught Connor off guard, by the looks of it. “What a small fucking world.”

“Right back at you.” Jared said with a cocky grin, but stepped aside to let Connor in. If only he knew, then the world would be even smaller. “So, Evan calls me an asshole behind my back?”

“It’s pretty much implied.”

“And ‘now we can pretend that we can both have friends’?” Jared added with a slight eyebrow wiggle.

Connor’s scowl deepened and a blush formed across his cheeks. “I was...it’s just that - what else was I supposed to say?! I was trying not to be a complete ass and he looked just about ready to bolt out the computer lab!”

“Adorable.” 

“Fuck you.”

Just before they entered the kitchen, Connor paused. “Wait, if the Hansens are your ‘family friends’, why are you Bruce Wayne’s ward?”

“You try going up against the Prince of Gotham. What Wayne wants, Wayne gets.” Jared said casually. Aunt Heidi had taken Bruce to court over his custody, not that the media knew anything about that. “Besides, if Bruce starts being a crappy parent, Aunty kidnaps me.”

“Like now?”

“Exactly. She’d do the same for you too, y’know.” Jared said, throwing a cheeky grin at Connor’s dazed face. He banged the door frame, startling Evan as he loaded the dishwasher with the morning dishes. “Yo Acorn! Your boyfriend’s here!”

“It’s not like that!” and “The fuck, Kleinman?” were yelled simultaneously and Jared couldn’t help but chuckle.     

“I’ll leave you guys to it.” And Jared slipped away, grinning as he heard Evan try to explain why there were so many dishes.

{~~~}

Jared shouldn’t have intervened. Evan and Connor were so obviously infatuated with each other it was only a matter of time before they officially got together. At the moment, though, the pair was insistent on staying ‘just friends’. Jared could understand that, they were each other’s first ‘real’ friend, made without the interference of any other force. They hung out together simply because they liked each other.

It was a stalemate and that was the problem. There was an underlying tension in maintaining the status quo between the two of them, with every romantic gesture brushed aside as them simply being friends. Not even their vigilante lives could help further any romance with Red Arrow working completely independent of the Justice League and Kid Flash sticking even closer to his mentor’s side. 

Something as small as a poorly placed comment or as large as the reveal of their secret identities at the wrong time could lead to the utter destruction of their relationship. They were too happy now and could potentially be even happier for Jared to just keep to the sidelines. 

So that was why he dragged Evan along with him to the next Wayne charity ball. 

Jared absolutely hated these overly pompous events. In short, they were  _ evil.  _ It wasn’t like the evil the in streets where the problem could simply be punched away. There were  _ social calls  _ and  _ niceties  _ and  _ protocols  _ and a long list of other stupid reasons as to why he couldn’t start joking that most the old socialites looked like pigs in wigs or deck another asshole heir who insulted his parents and heritage. 

In addition, Evan at charity balls was the same as Evan at any other social event: a bundle of nerves that threatened to vibrate through the floor or stumble in an accidental burst of speed. The only difference is that the people attending actually had the power to ruin his life on a whim, which did nothing to settle his anxieties. Nine times of out ten they ended with Evan sobbing in the bathroom. 

Normally, it would be a terrible down-right stupid idea. But the Murphys were going to be there and no matter how estranged father and son had become, Jared could count on Larry Murphy wrangling Connor into a tie and forcing him to come. 

Once you got pass the sheer amount of entitled assholes at the event, the setting seemed to create a cheesy romantic scene straight out of fairytale. Something that could either supercharge or completely destroy Evan and Connor’s relationship. 

So now Jared, playing to part of the Wayne ward and heir, navigated through the bear traps of social trappings with a fidgeting and flustered Evan at his heels. 

“Jared!” Evan called, still attempting to keep in step with his friend’s broad strides. “Where are - where are we going? I don’t...there’s so many - and I can’t...I don’t think-”

Jared turned and clasped his hands of Evan’s shoulders. “Ev, just breathe. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“But what’s - what’s going on?”

“I’m going to change your life.” Jared grinned, searching through crowd for a familiar face. 

He found two. 

“Kleinman?” 

“Zoe.”

“C-Connor?”

“Evan?!”

Jared forced a grin as the four teens collided. Larry Murphy did force his son to come along, as well as his new step-daughter.

“Fancy seeing you here, Crock.” Jared said. “Or is it Crock-Murphy now?”

“It’s just Murphy now.” Zoe said, gritting her teeth. “If this is what you meant by us laughing later, I’m not laughing at all.”

“You know Kleinman?” Connor said, eyes darting from one to another while purposely avoiding Evan. Almost a week and he seemed to have the ‘overprotective brother’ act nearly perfected. 

Zoe gave a slight scoff. “Back from Gotham Academy. We bumped into each other on the first day and since then he’s been…”

“The most insanely cool person person you’ve ever met?” Jared said with a toothy grin.

“A giant annoyance and asshole.” Zoe finished. 

Jared brought his arms to his chest in mock pain. “You wound me, Murphy! I thought you considered us good friends!”

“No.” The two step-sibling said in union. 

Connor’s expression then softened as he turned to Evan. “Wasn’t expecting to see you here, Evan.”

“Uh...yeah, you too.” Evan stumbled, refusing to make eye contact. “Wait! I mean, yes, of course you’d be here because you of...of your dad and all but I’m not really supposed to be here but here I am I guess well-”

“It’s good to see you.” Connor said with a gentle smile brought Evan out of his stuttering mess. If that wasn’t proof enough that those two should be together, Jared didn’t know what would. 

Zoe’s eye, however, narrowed onto Evan. “ _ You’re  _ Connor’s Evan? The one from Central City?”

Jared choked back a laugh while Evan was actually choking. 

“Uh yes.” Evan finally managed. 

“Then why are you even here?”

“Jared he...he invited me saying that he needed a plus one and that since we’re - since we’re family friends-”

“Wait, family friends?”

And shit. Jared could literally hear the pieces snap into place. 

“Hey! Why don’t we catch up, eh Zoe?” Jared said quickly. “I’m sure there’s a lot that you want to talk about.”

Evan’s eyes widened in alarm. “Jared but wait-”

“I’m sure you and Connor could use a little ‘friend time’ without us meddling.” Jared said with a firm pat on Evan’s back. 

“Don’t you dare try anything, Kleinman.” Connor growled.

To which Zoe protested. “I can take care of myself!”   
Jared nodded anyway and with that he and Zoe slunk off to the refreshments table. 

“I’m still not laughing, birdbrain.” Zoe scowled. “You better start explaining.”

“In a minute, just look there.” Jared said, pointing back at the two they left behind. 

Evan and Connor had retreated to the other end of the ballroom in a small corner where there was a distinct lack of other people. An ease had overcome the both of them, Evan’s nervous wrinkles seemed to have made way for slight laugh lines while Connor’s harsh scowl had softened into an almost smile. 

“I’ve never seen Connor so happy.” Zoe muttered.

Jared nodded in agreement. “I’ve never seen Evan so peaceful either.”

And without another word, an agreement was struck. Regardless of what vigilantism, the fate of the world or normal teenage drama’s may throw at them, seeing if they could get one Evan Hansen and one Connor Murphy together might be worth it, watching and tugging from the sidelines.  

 


End file.
